The present invention relates generally to networking and Internet protocol communication and services and, more specifically to facilitating secure Mobile Internet Protocol version 6 communication services over an Internet Protocol version 4. The invention also includes a new application development environment which simplifies the development of new services for portable computing devices (e.g., PC, PDA, and smart phones).
Data networking has been one of the most successful and widely adopted technologies of the information age. Computers and devices may “talk” to each other and transfer data through the network, which in turn facilitates electronic commerce, the Internet, and much more.
There are currently two versions of internet protocol in use: the existing Internet Protocol version 4 (“IPv4”) and a new Internet Protocol version 6 (“IPv6”). IPv6 is expected to gradually replace IPv4, but the two versions will coexist for a number of years during the transition period. Thus, enabling IPv6 communication over an IPv4 network during the transition period when the two versions coexist is an important concern among users of the Internet.
One of the primary drivers in the deployment of IPv6 is that it enables improved device mobility over IPv4. Currently mobility in IPv4 (also known as Mobile IPv4) requires the deployment of special hardware know as “foreign agents” in every network that a user might roam into. Subsequently the high cost of adding Mobile IPv4 features to existing networks has been a barrier to deployment. Conversely IPv6 supports device mobility without the need for special hardware as the mobility features have been incorporated into the protocol itself. Unfortunately the deployment of native IPv6 networks is quite limited.
Despite the success of networking, there is a need to improve network technology, especially secure networks so data may be securely transmitted from one point to another point in a network. And it is desirable that this secure network is easy for a user to set up. Therefore, there is a need to create a secure, easy-to-use end-to-end persistent connection between portable computers and networked appliances.